


Sweetest Thing

by seekingsquake



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Discord: Umino Hours, Multi, Umino Hours Winter Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28464747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingsquake/pseuds/seekingsquake
Summary: “Maybe after supper, you can have a couple more,” Iruka hedges. “You’ll have to ask Genma what he thinks when he gets back.”At the mention of Genma, Naruto perks up. “He’s coming home tonight?”“Mmhmm,” Iruka replies softly, perusing his sheet of animal stickers. “That’s why I made shortbread. It’s his favourite. And unlike you, he’s not lactose intolerant, so he can eat as many as he wants.”“I’m not lactose intolerant!”“Whatever you say, kiddo.”Naruto and Iruka wait for their favourite person to come home from a mission.
Relationships: Shiranui Genma & Uzumaki Naruto, Shiranui Genma/Umino Iruka, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32
Collections: The Umino Hours Winter Bingo 2020





	Sweetest Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the fact that every year, without fail, my partner makes himself sick on shortbread and just _won't stop._

“Mmmmmm ‘Ruka-sensei, these are sho goo’!”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Iruka responds absently, affixing candy canes to all the non-denominational holiday cards he’s made up for his class. And then he clues into the fact that Naruto is stuffing his face. “Don’t eat so much of that,” he adds, reaching over and pulling the plate of shortbread cookies out of Naruto’s reach. 

“Why?” Naruto whines, trying to soften Iruka up with those big blue eyes of his.

It won’t work. Iruka has had a few years of practice at avoiding the trap that is Naruto’s pouting face. “Because there’s too much butter; you’ll make yourself sick.” 

Naruto pouts harder, crossing his arms over his chest and tucking in his chin. “You always say I’ll make myself sick,” he grumbles. “I never do!”

Iruka stops what he’s doing and quirks an eyebrow at Naruto. They stare at each other in silence until Naruto heaves a sigh and ducks his head even more. “Whatever,” he mutters, eying up the cookies even under Iruka’s attention.

“Maybe after supper, you can have a couple more,” Iruka hedges. “You’ll have to ask Genma what he thinks when he gets back.”

At the mention of Genma, Naruto perks up. “He’s coming home tonight?”

“Mmhmm,” Iruka replies softly, perusing his sheet of animal stickers. “That’s why I made shortbread. It’s his favourite. And  _ unlike you,  _ he’s not lactose intolerant, so he can eat as many as he wants.”

“I’m not lactose intolerant!” 

“Whatever you say, kiddo.”

Eventually, Iruka coaxes Naruto to help him with the cards, and once they’re done with that, Iruka orders dinner from the curry place down the street. When a sparrow had flown into Iruka’s classroom earlier in the day with a message tied to its leg stating that Genma would be home before nightfall, Iruka had managed to keep it together. He’d finished teaching his class without letting on to the kids that he was distracted, and he’d made it home and got to baking before he even remembered to take off his flak vest.

Then he’d kept himself busy with the cards and some grading, but now he and Naruto are just... waiting. 

Years ago, before Iruka had finally agreed to go out on a date with Genma, he’d been wary of getting involved with a jonin because he didn’t want to be left lonely in the village while his partner was on missions all the time. But Genma was convincing, and he’d been struggling to parent Naruto on his own and adamant that Naruto and Iruka would get along. 

Dating a jonin is difficult, and Iruka is left in the village without his partner a lot. But he isn’t lonely. Naruto is always waiting for Genma’s return, too. They look after each other in his absence, and the three of them have become a strong family unit.

“Should we play a game or something?” he asks Naruto after fifteen minutes of the both of them just staring at the front door. When Naruto shakes his head, Iruka sighs and looks around. “Let’s put on a movie then, okay?”

They end up putting on some samurai action comedy film, but they’re both watching the door a bit more than the movie. Between that and keeping track of the clock, Iruka doesn’t have any idea about what’s happening on the screen. “What the hell?” he mutters as he watches two characters he’d thought were enemies begin kissing in the middle of a battlefield. 

Before he can ask Naruto any clarifying questions, there’s the sound of keys in the door, and they both jump up from the couch. “Oh fuck, I still have to go pick up dinner,” Iruka hisses, suddenly and immediately stressed that he doesn’t have the food here for Genma. The door swings open, and Naruto catapults himself across the room to wrap himself like a koala around Genma’s waist.

Genma ruffles Naruto’s hair with his free hand; the door pushed farther open with his shoulder and a take-out bag from the curry place dangling precariously from the fingers of his other hand. “I’m home,” he says, smiling around the senbon in his mouth and through his clear exhaustion. 

Iruka takes the food from Genma and checks the receipt. “How did you know we—”

“I didn’t,” Genma replies, prying Naruto off him and pushing the boy towards the kitchen table. “I went in to order, but they know us and thought I came to pick-up. Worked out well.” He puts his senbon in one of his vest pockets and leans in for a kiss, but gets a shortbread cookie shoved into his mouth instead and groans, his eyes fluttering closed in bliss. “I love you.”

“Hey!” Naruto squawks. “I want one, too!”

“You’ve already eaten most of them,” Iruka laughs but doesn’t object as Genma breaks a cookie in half to share with him. “Let's have dinner, hmm?”

“Did you miss me?” Genma asks Naruto as he takes off his vest and leg wrappings before grabbing bowls and sitting at the table.

“Always!” Naruto says eagerly before launching into a story about what happened at the academy while Genma was gone.

Genma listens with half an ear but turns to Iruka and whispers, “What about you?”

“Always,” Iruka echoes quietly, dropping a kiss on the corner of Genma’s mouth before dishing some food for Naruto. 

**Author's Note:**

> This piece fulfills the "holiday baking" prompt on my bingo card!


End file.
